


The New Kid

by AnnieVH



Series: Don't Come Back [11]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, High School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-25 23:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7551304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieVH/pseuds/AnnieVH
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Graham thinks Neal is strange, but that is a good thing. Tagged Rumbelle for overall verse, but neither appears in this story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The New Kid

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: past domestic abuse (including psychological, verbal and sexual), past child abuse, terrible parenting all around. Anti-Milah, anti-Malcolm. Rated mature just for safety.
> 
> Verse: Don’t Come Back, a Behind Closed Doors remix
> 
> Beta: MaddieBonanaFana

The new kid was weird, but not in a bad way. When you live in an uneventful small town, all days feel like the same, and anything unusual is like a breath of fresh air. The fact that Neal was a hard nut to crack only made him more interesting. He didn't smile a lot, didn't volunteer his opinions very often, and more often than not just nodded along while Graham talked, explaining Storybrooke and its citizens to him. If Graham tried to ask a question, Neal deflected with a vague answer. It made their conversation very one-sided, but, even though Graham had never been very talkative before, he didn't mind it too terribly. It was kind of fun trying to figure out his new friend and put the small pieces of the puzzle that was Neal Cassidy together.

By the time the last period got canceled on Friday, Graham had a few pieces to start. Neal lived with his father. He reluctantly admitted that his parents were divorced and volunteered no information about his mother. They lived together somewhere, but he was very secretive about the location. Maybe it was a bad place and he was ashamed of it – though Graham himself lived in the worst part of town and couldn't recall ever seeing him around. Neal hated math, but loved comic books. And he always had to wait for his dad after school, which was why he always refused Graham's offer to show him the town all week.

Today, it was not different.

“I should stay,” Neal said, still sitting, giving no indication he was going anywhere. “You know, wait for my dad.”

“Wow, your dad must be really strict,” Mulan said, backpack already over the shoulder and ready to go before someone changed their minds and found a substitute teacher to cover for Mr. Hader. “Can't you just call him and say you'll be home for dinner?”

“We don't really have cellphones,” Neal admitted, a little ashamed of the fact. That theory of Neal and his father living in a bad part of town seemed even more plausible now.

“You can't just wait here for two hours. Without a cellphone! I mean, what are you going to do?” Graham said.

“...Homework?”

Mulan laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“You can't seriously say you prefer _homework_ to spending time with us at Granny's. And then we could finally show you Storybrooke,” Graham said.

“Don't get your hopes up, though,” Mulan said. “There isn't much to see.”

Neal fidgeted with his hands. He seemed to like the idea, but something was holding him back.

“Dad doesn't really want me to leave school before he gets here. He's sort of overprotective, sometimes. You know, new town and all.”

“Can't we just ask him?” Mulan suggested. “Where does he work?”

“He's cleaning up the pawnshop. But-”

“Mr. Gold's pawnshop?” she interrupted.

“Yes, but-”

“Why? I thought the old man didn't care for that shop anyway.”

“I don't know. So-”

“That's not that far,” Graham said. “If you need his permission, we can drop by and ask him.”

“I- you don't have to- I'll be fine, really-”

“C'mon!” Graham insisted. “You always go back home. You need to see the rest of town at some point.”

“And I'm sure your dad will learn this town isn't like Portland,” Mulan argued. “It's pretty safe and boring. Especially once you've learned your way around it.”

Neal still looked unsure, but Graham could see it in his eyes that he wanted to go with them. Waiting in school with nothing to do and then staying locked up at home all weekend wasn't his idea of fun either.

“Okay,” he gave in.

“Okay!” Graham said, pulling him off his chair and dragging him along before he changed his mind. “Lets go meet Mr. Cassidy!”

 


End file.
